Vancouver Marathon Training - Week 15

The BMO Vancouver International Marathon is - as I write this -just over 3 weeks away! Listened to Endurance Planet's April 8th Episode called: "You Asked the Coach: Cramming for a Race?" On the topic of "cramming" the coach, Troy Jacobsen, basically says, "Yes you can, but be careful". The idea is you can benefit a lot with some intensive training for 3-4 weeks before your race even if you have been falling behind in your workouts. He suggests a couple of interval workouts a week and a week of taking it easy before race day. He also mentions that you should incorporate this strategy no more once a year in order to avoid injuries. So, I think I'll follow his advice... MONDAY - REST Man are my legs sore! Must have been the half marathon I ate on Sunday.... TUESDAY - 8K (5 mi) Tonight's was the SECOND TO LAST Sun Run InTraining Clinic and the participants ran for 50 minutes straight! I was feeling the after-effects from Sunday's hilly race. Starting to regret it a bit. WEDNESDAY - Rest Resting Heart Rate: 72 bpm Went online today and found some tips for easing muscle pain. Wore stick-on heating pads under my pants all day to help with the muscle aches since Sunday's race. The package said no one will know you have them on, but the smell gave me away (think: walking medicine cabinet). Went to see a special screening of "Spirit of the Marathon" with a bunch of girlfriends. It was AWESOME and very inspiring. I highly recommend seeing it if you get the opportunity. Makes me want to run Chicago! THURSDAY - 16K (10 mi) Pace: 6:15 min/km (10:00 min/mi) After warming up for about 10 minutes I ran fast 4 minutes then slow 2 minutes and repeated this 6 times. After that I continued the rest of my run at a comfortable pace.The fast parts were pretty hard, but I don't really know how fast I'm supposed to go. A heart rate monitor would be good. Had an encounter with a racoon. He was crouching in the bushes in Stanley Park right off the path and looking menacing. I ran faster and got by him. FRIDAY- 8K (5 mi) Resting Heart Rate: 63 bpm This was SUPPOSED to be speed training workout number two, however, after waking up at 3 from a bad dream involving aggressive miniature racooons I had to sleep in. AND I decided to get out of town early rather than doing the run after work. Oh well, win some lose some... SATURDAY - CROSS-TRAINING Did lots of work around the house including cleaning up outside. That should count for something I think. SUNDAY - 32K (20 mi) - 3:55 Pace: 7:58 min/km (11:00 min/mi) Well, I'm not super happy with that time but the main thing is - I did it. I ran 32K (20 mi) and I felt pretty good at the end. I'm not suggesting I was ready to climb mountains afterwards, but I was able to run a bit faster at the end and I was not overly uncomfortable at any point. I am feeling a bit more confident about the marathon now - although I'm still not sure how realistic my goal time of 4:15 is. WEEK 15 SUMMARY Total Distance Required: 64 km (40 mi) Total Distance Completed: 56 km (35 mi)